The Temperance Movement: What Did #QuitLit Look Like 100 Years Ago?

Long before today’s sober-curious conversations, Bookstagram posts, and bestselling quit-lit titles, people were already using words, stories, and literature to challenge drinking culture.

This talk explores the original temperance movement, which emerged as a powerful social force in the Northwest before sweeping across Britain and beyond. Drawing on historical examples, it looks at how early temperance advocates used novels, pamphlets, tracts, and personal stories to influence public opinion, reshape attitudes to alcohol, and support people in rethinking their relationship with drink.

By revisiting these early forms of “quit lit”, the talk reveals striking parallels between 19th-century temperance literature and today’s modern sober narratives - showing that storytelling has long been a central tool in movements for change.

Whether you’re interested in social history, literature, wellbeing, or the contemporary sober movement, this session offers a fascinating perspective on how the past continues to shape present-day conversations around alcohol.

Chaired - Yvonne Norris (Researcher, PhD, MMU)

Speaker - Dr Annmarie McAllister - expert and a leading scholar on the temperance movement

Alongside a guest panel including leading voices from present-day sober communities from across the Northwest.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Manchester Library and Information Service